Mental Models

Several researchers have investigated beginners ' mental models of programs. In most, a mental model is defined as the way the programmer understands what the computer does as it executes commands. A variety of methods have been used to learn about novices ' mental models including verbal protocol and interviews. Bayman and Mayer (1983) stated that two things happen as novices learn to program. First, beginning programmers acquire new information about the programming language and the rules that govern it. Second, they create a mental model of what happens inside the computer as the program statements get executed. Their study showed that often students create incorrect mental models although they can write proper programming statements. Bayman and Mayer looked at nine statements in BASIC and the most common misconceptions that arose within the subjects' mental models. Canas, Bajo, and Gonzalvo (1994) also investigated students ' mental models of programs. They believed that students who have help creating a mental model would have a better understanding of the program. In order to help students develop a mental model they provided students with a tracing mechanism that demonstrated how the computer worked as the code is executed. The